South Korea to Arrest Unification Church Leader 

South Korean investigators on Thursday said they are seeking an arrest warrant for the leader of the Unification Church, following allegations that church officials bribed the wife of imprisoned former president, Yoon Suk Yeol, and a lawmaker from his party, the Associated Press reported. 

Investigator Park Sang-jin said a court will decide Monday whether to approve the warrant for Hak Ja Han, the 82-year-old church leader and widow of its previous leader and founder, Sun Myung Moon. 

The announcement came a day after authorities interrogated Han for hours over accusations that her organization provided luxury gifts and cash in exchange for political favors. 

The church leader rejected the allegations. 

Authorities allege Yoon’s wife, former First Lady Kim Keon Hee, accepted two Chanel bags and a diamond necklace – together worth about $58,000 – from a Unification Church intermediary, who sought various business favors, including the church’s participation in a Cambodian development project. 

Kim was arrested last month on various charges, including bribery and stock manipulation, charges she denies. 

Her detention marked the first time that both a former president and former first lady have been jailed in South Korea, according to the BBC. 

Meanwhile, the conservative People Power Party’s lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong was detained this week on accusations of receiving more than $72,000 in bribes from the same church official.  

Kweon, a prominent Yoon ally, rejected the claims. 

The arrests and probes are part of wider investigations into Yoon’s presidency, including his controversial decision to impose martial law in December, which contributed to his impeachment and official removal from office earlier this year. 

Observers noted that the probe also underscores the growing scrutiny that the Unification Church has been facing in recent years. 

Moon, a self-proclaimed messiah, founded the church in 1954 and preached a new interpretation of the Bible and conservative family values. He turned the church into an international movement with millions of followers and large business interests. 

Critics, however, have described the church as “cult-like” and accused it of pressuring members to donate large sums of money. 

The church has been banned in a number of countries, including Singapore and, recently, in Japan. 

It made global headlines shortly after the 2022 assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The alleged assassin accused the organization of bankrupting his family and expressed anger at Abe’s promotion of the church.